A Ceiling of Glass
by Elenea Galad
Summary: Seto Kaiba committed suicide, leaving a stunned city behind. When Yami realizes why, he enlists the help of Anzu and Jou as well as the magic of the Puzzle to try and save him. They have twelve hours. Suicide/Character Death. Seto/Jou
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a Seto/Jou story but the pairing is not the center of the fic.

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A Ceiling of Glass

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Preface

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Her name was Sara Wright. She graduated from Harvard School of Medicine and moved to Japan to work as a general practitioner in understaffed hospitals. She found quickly that she couldn't stand the dull repetitiveness of dealing with snotty-nosed kids, seniors who thought they were having a heart attack when in reality they had heartburn, and teenage girls wanting birth control.

So she accepted what most would consider a demotion to work as a paramedic. Driving and working in the ambulances, helping to save lives on a daily basis, it was work she never regretted until one day.

"We're an ambulance. We save lives, we don't escort dead bodies."

Her supervisor sighed. "Please, Sara, we're over booked. Just bring him here."

They arrived at the school shortly after. Sara steeled herself to find the body of a child. In a way, what she found was worse.

A teenage boy, maybe three or four years younger than she, lay dead on the floor of the school library. His wrists were slit several times but he had one hand behind his hand and the other resting on his stomach. If it weren't for the pools of blood, he would look like he was taking a nap.

He was even smiling.

Sara felt tears well up in her eyes.

This boy had committed suicide and died with a smile on his face.

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Chapter 1

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May 20, Wednesday, 11:37 a.m.

"Come on, lunch time..."

"Cheering it on won't it come faster, mutt."

Yami rolled his eyes. Though Kaiba's words weren't gentle, they also held no malice. Jou, for once, didn't respond but kept on cheering the clock. The teacher was ignoring the class, having given them the last fifteen minutes to work on their projects.

Pre-calculus had always been one of his worst subjects but with Kaiba and Jou as his partners, the project was set up for perfection. Jou had never listened to Yami's praise of his math work and since Yami was horrible at math, it was understandable. But when Kaiba praised him, it had warmed Yami to see Jou's face light up. Of course, he'd coughed and insulted Kaiba which caused the CEO to shake his head.

But the insults has slowed as the project continued.

Only Yami knew that Jou kept an account of how many times Kaiba had said his name instead of 'mutt.'

"Jounouchi-san,"

Yami smiled. Speak of the devil. Jou still laughed at the '-san.'

"Yes, Kaiba-san?" Jou replied with a bit of a smile.

Kaiba gave something between a head shake and an eye roll but immediately began speaking math so Yami began tuning the two out, drawing a poor likeness of the Dark Magician on his notebook.

The bell rang and Jou was out the door, leading the race to the cafeteria to make sure he got the best pick of everything...completely forgetting he'd brought his lunch that day. Kaiba leaned down and picked up the brown bag Jou had left on the floor as well at neatly organizing the work they'd done that day. Kaiba was adamant on finishing the project early.

Yami pulled his pack over his shoulder as Kaiba picked up his laptop bag. Side by side they walked to the cafeteria where Jou was now mourning the fact that he had no money for lunch while Anzu offered to share her tempura. Kaiba joined them long enough to return Joey's lost lunch before taking his usual table and setting up his laptop.

A few minutes later, Mokuba came jogging over from the middle school and began his daily attempt to join the tables which ended as it always did.

With Mokuba running back and forth.

Mokuba jumped over to our table and grinned, immediately part of the conversation, wolfing down his sandwich between comments. The smell of tuna wafted around but it wasn't bad. Mokuba had told them a hundred times that his brother made the best tuna salad.

Kaiba himself was eating tuna salad out of a plastic container and drinking milk while making notes on paper for once.

Kaiba had odd tastes, Yami mused.

* * *

Kaiba moved over the notebook before him with a pencil, making short notes and checking off things as they had happened

Mokuba must be very comfortable with Yugi and his gang. Check.

Call Hokutei and make sure everything was all in place. Check.

Make friends with the librarian. Gain her trust. Check.

Finish all group assignments. Not check.

Kaiba frowned. It was that math project with Jounouchi and Yami that was holding him up. He hadn't set a date in mind but now that everything was taken care of, he admitted he was eager.

Then he smiled. Seto Kaiba was not built for smiles and it made those glancing at him receive a chill through their spine but he thought it was funny.

One should not be eager to plan one's own demise.

He had everything planned out, down to the song he'd be listening to. The razors rested comfortably in his pocket and every so often when the pain became close to unbearable. As it was now, as he stared at the happiness at the table next to him, the happiness he'd been so completely excluded from.

His hand folded into his pocket and caressed the razors there.

It was just worse when they tried to involve him. No matter how many times Yugi or Anzu or even Jounouchi tried to tell him that they were friends. If they were friends, why couldn't he join them? Why couldn't he do anything to help them on their 'adventures' without having some ulterior motive? No, they always backed themselves into a corner before asking him for help.

Well, it'd all be over soon.

The lunch bell signaling the end of the period rang and the hordes of people rose to go to their next class. Jounouchi landed beside him.

"Hey, moneybags, Mokuba told us you had a meeting this afternoon so Yug' and I'll finish up the project tonight, kay? You can check it in the morning if ya' want."

"You'll be done tonight?" Kaiba said with an internal smile.

"Yup."

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May 21, Thursday, 3:27 p.m.

Why was the day taking so long? Kaiba thrummed the desk with his pencil, staring at the French words on his paper but not really seeing them. He had two hours left.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Mokuba met him just outside and gave him a hug.

"Mekaira and me are going to the arcade, all right? Don't work too hard."

Kaiba patted his head. "No worries, Mokie."

Mokuba beamed at the nickname and Kaiba watched him get into a car with his friend before going back inside.

The math project was finished, perfect. Everything was done, taken care of. He went on as he did every Thursday.

He rejoined Ms. Larange in room 207 and helped her grade French tests until 5:00 p.m. when she left to go pick up her son from daycare.

He then went to the library and settled into a corner as he always did. The librarian smiled at him and fixed her hair too often until 6:00 p.m. when she had to go.

"Lock up?" she said softly and Kaiba nodded, turning the page. He had less than thirty pages left in _The Sword of Shannara_ by Terry Brooks.

He waited until 6:15 p.m. to walk to the library doors, cut out the lights, and lock the doors. Locking himself inside.

With the finished book sitting on the table, he walked around, pulling the curtains over the windows, giving the beautiful library an eerie feel.

Finally.

He'd even picked the place.

Slowly, he checked his book back in and left it on the counter. Then he walked to the back, the dusty shelves of old classics that ordinary high school students couldn't stand, the shelves arranged in a large half-circle.

He lay down in the center of the half-circle and stared up. Here, the library was covered by a beautiful ceiling of glass. The dying sunlight streamed down over him and he closed his eyes, both feeling and not feeling its incredible warmth.

Kaiba brought out the razors from his pocket and turned them over in his hands, still staring up above him. He set the razors down beside him the sat up, unbuttoning the dark blue uniform blazer, balled it up, and set it under his head as a pillow. He then pulled out his mp3 player and placed the earbuds in his ears. Sweet rock filled his world as he set a playlist going.

First, Apocalyptica's "I Don't Care" featuring Adam Gontier.

Seto closed his eyes, lifted the razors again. As the chorus came along, he made his first cut, smooth, shallow, across his left wrist.

He made three more cuts before the song died. Next was "Field of Innocence" by Evanescence.

Three more cuts.

"Always" by Saliva.

Seto jumped when the razor met resistance and he pulled through, barely feeling the pain. Blood gushed from his arm and he smiled. He'd finally hit the brachial artery.

He lay back now, setting the blessed razor beside him. He folded one arm behind his head and lay the other over his stomach. The scent of the blood filled him up, made him light-headed, calm.

"Lonely Day" by System of a Down.

Perfect.

He closed his eyes and smiled.

The minutes ticked away. His heart stopped beating at 6:37 p.m.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What You Leave Behind

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May 22__nd__, Friday, 8:07 a.m._

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Yugi and Anzu ran to get to school on time. They'd missed the bus and both were sure to be in deep trouble until they got to the grounds. A crowd of students was gathered in the commons. Jou worked his way over to them.

"They're not letting anyone in. Apparently someone got killed in the library last night. Ms. Sashi found'em this morning."

Anzu gasped and Yugi wrapped an arm around her then let Yami take over. He scanned the commons and saw the young librarian near hysterics being questioned by the police. A moment later, a hush fell over everyone.

Two paramedics had come out of the school wheeling a black body bag.

Slowly, as the crowd parted to allow their deceased peer by, words whispered through the crowd.

"Suicide…"

"…cut his wrists…"

"…can't believe it…"

Suddenly, Joey lifted his head. "Shouldn't Mokuba and Kaiba be here by now?"

The doors on the ambulance slammed shut and the principal and teachers ushered them to class. The library was blocked off with yellow crime scene tape.

None of the teachers would say a thing though all of them were clearly shaken up.

Yet, they should've said something. It would've been easier, Yami decided. Especially after he flipped on the news. Jou's head snapped up and Anzu froze in the doorway to the living room, Mutou-ojii-san right behind her.

_Good evening, this is Hanako Mizu for Channel 7. Tragedy struck today in Domino City when KaibaCorp CEO, Seto Kaiba, was found dead in the library of Domino High School at 7:00 a.m. this morning by the school's librarian. The cause of death is an apparent suicide. _

The report went on to talk about Mokuba and all the many charitable things KaibaCorp had done recently. Anzu was pale as the white curtains and Jou looked positively green. Only Yami seemed to be thinking straight.

"We have to go see Mokuba."

Anzu and Joey both nodded but Yami practically had to lead them to the car. They reached the mansion in record time. There was a crowd of reporters being held back by the police at the gate. Yami got out and pressed the button next to the speaker.

"Mokuba, it's Yugi, Anzu and Jou."

A few moments passed and one of the policemen began eyeing him.

Then a hoarse voice he barely recognized as Mokuba's came through the speaker.

"Come on in," it rasped.

Mokuba met them at the door with a tired smile, his black hair more disheveled than usual. He was dressed in too large jeans and a loose white t-shirt with the emblem of a Blue Eyes on it. It didn't take a genius to figure out that both the jeans and shirt belonged to Seto.

Mokuba led them into the large living room and Yami couldn't help but shudder at how cold the house suddenly felt. Sure, Kaiba had been one icy bastard but this…

This was death.

"HOW COULD HE DO THIS!?" Mokuba suddenly screamed and Yami lunged to catch the collapsing teen. Mokuba dissolved into tears for what looked like the millionth time from the boy's red eyes and sunken features.

Both Jou and Anzu looked at a loss and Yami just held the black-haired teen until the tears quieted and Mokuba looked up at them quietly.

"I keep asking myself that," he whispered. "I just wish I knew why."

A nearby door opened and a blond man came in, folding a cell phone into his pocket. His Japanese was slow and broken with an American accent.

"Everything's taken care of, Mokuba. Nice, quiet funeral, private."

"Thanks, Jake," Mokuba said softly.

The man named Jake nodded. "Hokutei will read the will tomorrow."

Mokuba blinked and raised his head.

"Seto had a will?"

Jake looked sadly at Mokuba. "Yeah, he penned one a couple weeks ago, according to Hokutei. Also set up numerous trust funds for you and an insurance policy including suicide. I'm sorry, Mokuba, but looks like Seto had been planning this for a while."

Mokuba closed his eyes sadly and leaned into Yami's embrace. Jake met the gaze of the other three in the room and smiled weakly.

"You three are in his will too."

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May 23__rd__, Saturday, 10:29 a.m._

_The Will_

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The next morning Mokuba looked, if possible, worse. Perhaps now because he was trying to fake a smile for all those around him. Yami just kept growling at the press and Yugi kept reminding him that he couldn't send them to the Shadow Realm. Jou continued to look green and Anzu gripped his hand as Shizuka took his other hand.

Jake was there next to a somber man with long black hair and a deep tan. Mokuba smiled weakly at him before giving him a short hug.

"Hokutei,"

The man whispered something to Mokuba who nodded and followed Jake inside. He turned to the remaining three and after a moment, offered his hand to each in turn.

"My name is Hokutei Namato. Hajimemashite.*"

"Hajimemashite." Yami responded amiably but Jou and Anzu were silent.

"If you'll follow me..."

Hokutei led them into the courthouse where they met up with Jake and Mokuba. Slowly, the five of them settled into a small room, Shizuka waiting outside. With the offered cup of water in hand, Jou seemed to settle a bit and look up, waiting.

Waiting.

Hokutei cleared his throat and after some genial nonsense, began to read.

_I suppose I must first apologize. Mokuba, I am sorry you are hurting. Jounouchi, Yugi, and Anzu: I am sorry you must be involved. As for myself, I am not sorry for what I have done. I suppose you must want to know why but I don't really care if you know except that...Mokuba, you must know that my actions were in no way your fault. I love you. I always have and always will. You gave me reason to live for as long as I have._

Mokuba let out a fresh sob.

_Please don't cry. I am sorry I couldn't live any longer. I'm sure you think I am weak. _

"No, you're not." Mokuba choked and Jou gripped the fabric of his pants until his knuckles were white.

_I imagine here you say that I am not but I am, Mokuba, I am. Only the weak commit suicide. *pause* I realize that none of this brings any closure and I apologize. I've done a great deal of apologizing here it seems. Well, I did none in life. _

_Mokuba-You know I love you and I always will. You are strong, so much stronger than me and I know you will grow up to be incredible. I hope my actions have not hindered that. Be strong, Mokie, but don't be afraid to cry. _

_Anzu—Ah...so much to say._

Anzu's head shot up.

_I'll start with gratitude. Thank you. Thank you for making me believe in all the good things in life and for pretending, for however brief a time, that you cared what happened to me. Thank you for being a friend to Mokuba. I ask that you continue that. He needs a friend like you. By the way, I'm leaving you three million dollars. Go to Juilliard. _

Anzu burst into tears.

_Yugi—Again, I think I'll start with gratitude. You saved me from what Gozaburo made me. You brought me back to myself and allowed me to live as I should, for Mokuba. You allowed me to be a...halfway decent big brother and you were always there to save him when I wasn't. If I'd had a best friend, I like to think it was you._

Yugi was stoic but shaking.

_To you, I also leave three million dollars and my three Blue Eyes White Dragons. Tell your grandfather I'm sorry. As well, if Mokuba doesn't want it, the company is yours and Jounochi's. The two of you have good business sense. _

_Jounouchi—_

Jou didn't look up but stared at a crack in the attorney's desk.

_The enclosed letter, I believe, says it all. Please watch after Mokuba with the others and keep an eye on Yugi. Kami knows he can't take care of himself. As well, for the sake of equilibrium, take three million dollars._

Jou slowly lifted his head and took the small envelope with one hand. He set it in his lap and stared at it.

_Everything else is yours, Mokie. And Jake, go to college or I'll haunt you._

"Yes sir," Jake said softly. Hokutei sat back and relaxed.

"The rest is simply several monetary donations to various charities."

Jou stood and left the others, moving out into the hallway. Yugi wrapped an arm around Anzu and Jake took Mokuba's hand.

As Hokutei finished up some paperwork, Jake gave them a weary smile and shook Yugi's hand.

"The funeral's tomorrow morning at 9 a.m."

Yugi nodded. "We'll be there."

Upon entering the foyer, he glanced around until he found Jou by the fireplace, slowly feeding the fire shredded pieces of the envelope.

"Jou!" Yugi snapped and Jou jumped in surprise then looked ashamed.

"Trust moneybags to give me useless information." Jou said bitterly.

Anzu glared at him but Yugi recognized the look in his eyes. In his heart he knew what the letter had said, something Jou had always wanted and somehow come too late. They'd all come too late.

Yami frowned next to Yugi. _"If only we knew why..."_

Yugi nodded slowly.

"If only..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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May 24th, Sunday, 8:37 am_

Jounouchi stood in front of the mirror, wishing there was a female in the house so he could steal her makeup to cover the dark rings under his eyes. Mokuba had called five minutes ago, saying that someone would be by shortly to pick him up. Still, Jou stood before the mirror, both staring at his reflection and at nothing. He waited for something to change, for someone to step out and yell "Psych!!! Gotcha!"

Nothing happened.

So Jou pulled on the one black dress shirt he owned and sat on the sidewalk outside the tiny apartment he shared with his father. He waited for whatever car was going to come get him, wondering if he could get through the funeral. Wondering.

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May 24__th__, Sunday, 9:02 am_

_The Funeral_

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Jounouchi got out of the black rental SUV and walked to Anzu's side. She stood by the green tent, dressed in stiff black blazer and skirt, sweltering under the blazing sun. Jounouchi glared at the orb, defying it, cursing how it gleamed so brightly on this most horrid of days. Yugi got out of the car behind him and touched his hand as he passed. There were only two people at the funeral that none of them knew. One was a beautiful women with thick black curly hair dressed in a black business suit and matching heels. Her eyes were red and her hands, encased in velvet gloves, were shaking.

The other was a tall aging man with a still thick crop of silver hair. His face was lined with years but he seemed shaken to his core.

Jounouchi lowered his head to the ground as the black hearse appeared around the corner. He became fascinated with the cheap gravel covering the drive of the expensive and secluded cemetery. The harsh lines of the stone reminded him of Battle City, the rubble beneath his feet while he battled Seto for third place. The moment, however brief, when he thought he saw approval if not admiration before it dissolved into annoyance and the lines became Seto's scowl as he fought for control of his own Blue Eyes.

He turned his head to the well-cultivated grass he now stood on, toeing a blade carefully as he struggled not to look up, not to see. Not to finalize it.

The blades of grass turned into Seto's elegant handwriting as the pencil shaped the complex lines of algorithms and proofs and other calculus nonsense. The graceful way the long fingers of his hands made sense of what seemed like a foreign language. The small smile he'd been gifted with when he produced a full flawless proof for their project. A project he now felt like burning.

He heard the sounds of the car doors opening, a slight creak of mahogany as it was lifted. He felt Anzu's hand, her thin gloves threading through his fingers and he lifted his head _(not looking) _to stare firmly at the green tent. Why green? It was so...generic, so...uninteresting. They all gathered in a small circle as some nameless man who might have meant something to Seto or might not have presided over the ceremony.

Ropes were all he could see when he dared a glance, ropes that turned into brunette tresses. These locks had escaped their gel bounds that long night at the library, searching through countless books for a necessary formula they just couldn't seem to find. The way those long elegant hands had persistently pushed back rebellious bangs until Seto finally gave a small laugh in defeat. The way Seto had pulled his blazer over his head and ran beside him for the shelter of the porch. So very un-Kaiba like. There were so many things then that had been un-Kaiba like.

_Hey, you want to come in until it stops raining? I could make us some sandwiches if you like tuna. _

_I would but Mokuba will be worrying about me soon. I'll catch a cab._

The touch of Yugi's hand to the back of his woke Jou from his memories. The ropes creaked as they lowered the mahogany casket. Just like that, his efforts of _not looking_ were worthless and Jou stared at the box, nothing more than a box, the box that carried...no, he couldn't. He jerked when the casket hit the earth, a dull sound of wood meeting ground. It wasn't...it couldn't be.

Mokuba was pale. It seemed all his tears were gone and he could just stand there underneath Jake's arm, firmly attached the chauffeur's side. The woman with the curly black hair was silently crying. The man with silver hair stood silent. Anzu turned to the crying woman and they comforted each other as only women could.

Yugi's hand just gently touched the back of his, offering silent comfort in that odd way of his. But he didn't know. He didn't understand.

It was his fault.

Jou turned from the odd group of people, most of which he knew, some of which he didn't, and ignored the SUV and the chauffeur holding a door open for him. He walked past everything that was once Seto and held his essence. He walked over streets and through trees, crawled over fences to maintain a straight line for no particular reason except there was no reason. Why should he stay on the paved walkways of the world? Why must he follow those straight lines when this defied all logic?

He walked until he could walk no more, standing on the edge of a railed pier. A security guard glanced at him briefly before moving on. Obvious, if Jou was going to jump over, the guard didn't want to have to go after him. Move on. Don't interfere.

A pigeon landed on the railing as Jou stared out over the ocean. It pecked at the wood and made soft cooing noises.

Don't interfere. Don't interfere.

The phrase repeated itself like a mantra in Jou's head, his eyes open but seeing nothing. It was his fault Seto was dead, his fault, because he had chosen not to interfere.

The pigeon pecked his hand and Jou twisted, grabbing the bird by the neck and it fluttered weakly against his grip, trying to peck but having no room to move. Jou almost lovingly stroked the bird's throat with his thumb, feeling the pounding pulse and the weak windpipe. Jou stared at the bird as if it were some miracle link to Seto, some improvised replacement. He felt his hand tighten and bird's attempts to escape became stronger. The pulse quickened, adrenaline pumped, trying to save itself.

Seto hadn't fought like this. Seto hadn't fought at all.

Slowly the bird's fluttering became weaker, its attempts to break free became nonexistent and the bird sputtered briefly before the pulse died, the wings fell still, the windpipe broke. Jou stared at the dead bird weakly, trying to discern the message it had been trying to convey then slowly, everything he'd been running away from hit him as hard as if a tsunami had come at that precise moment and swept him from the pier. He slid to the broken wood of the dock, cradling the tiny life in his arms. Tears rolled down his cheeks and broken sobs cut off his breath the moment it entered his lungs.

He'd strangled Seto just as he had strangled that bird, cutting him off from what he needed, even when he begged. And Seto hadn't fought at all, had just let him kill him.

What had he done?

"Jou! Jounouchi!"

Jou looked up to see Honda standing by the road, holding an umbrella as the skies poured out their wealth. When had it started raining? Honda jogged down the pier to where he sat and Jou looked up at him blankly.

"Jou, it's just a bird."

Jou looked down and shook his head. Still cradling the bird, he allowed Honda to pull him up and walk him home.

His fault. His fate. Four useless words on a useless scrap of paper that meant nothing now except...

He could've saved him.


End file.
